Bartek performs all instruments on SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC (-drums) as well as the majority of vocals. A.K.A. MABUS was a full collaboration. As JACK CASSADY, Bartek performs solo under said alias. Detailed info below.

Finally being released in any official form is the long lost A.K.A. MABUS record “LORD OF THE BLACK SHEEP” (2006). The first of its mutant breed in Detroit, A.K.A. MABUS was an experimental grindpunk outfit that burned fast & hard for a year of psychological warfare before imploding.

Says METAL MANIACS MAGAZINE (May 2007): “It's like sledding down a mountain of landmines, hauling ass like a champ to ensure you're past the next one when it blows, damn close to becoming pink snow each time. Blending grindcore, punk, industrial and thrash elements together, exposure to A.K.A. MABUS incites an anarchic, uncontainable explosion of neurotic hate the punks, grinders, 'bangers and all chaos-born heathens into raw, demented, metallic battery will likely dig. And it bore no surprise upon first listen... A dude who expresses his inner rage towards modern humanity in any artistic way possible, 'Maniacs' writer/musician/pissed American Ryan Bartek helps man this act. I am sure others involved share and contribute to the bands message. End-bringing apocalyptic/anarcho, proto/retro, genre crossbreeding has resulted in something that's immediately familair yet completely innovative. I need not ass comparisons since it genre-jumps/mangles nonstop. Discerningly catchy, pathologically corrosive and (hopefully) morally corruptive, 'Lord Of The Black Sheep' is a fucking outstanding display of what America can produce musically, yet will remind you of its evils and contradictions in every syllable.” -Dave Brenner

This is the first time the album has ever been freely available, despite numerous copies floating the file-sharing, basement troll circuit. It’s the album I killed myself to make throughout my early 20’s -- a turbulent 5 year course of false starts & flake musicians. Alienating everyone instantaneously, we were quickly rejected by the uniform punk scene & detested by those way too “true metal” for their own good.

A.K.A. MABUS ended up playing dozens of dive-bars amongst lazy Godsmack imitations & Lamb of God clones, leaving every venue scratching their heads or running for cover. We came, we saw, we slaughtered – but always to an audience of maybe 12 people.

This debut album was recorded Easter Sunday 2006 and was scheduled for release on 9/11/2006, but after endless personal apocalypse I threw in the towel, hit the road & wrote “THE BIG SHINY PRISON.” The rest is history, and this early history is now yours, 100% FREE.

“LORD OF THE BLACK SHEEP” is drenched in true sweat, true fury & raw as a condom made of broken glass.

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The SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC “COMPLETE MAMMALOGRAPHY” includes three EP’s – the flagship “THUNDER OF THE YETI,” the lethal grind karaoke sessions “IN THE CATACOMBS OF CHARENTON” & the world’s first Zen Buddhist Grindcore album “GRINDHARMAGEDDON.” Combined they render a 41 track leviathan sure to ruin it for everyone.

The idea of SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC was simple – to create a savage train-wreck of noise so ear-piercingly insane that 99% of humanity would lunge for the stereo killswitch within 30 seconds of exposure. Just some deranged, obscure thing you’d get in a tape trade from one of the basement trolls. Then things got a little more serious.

Thus, SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC is now culminating in Portland with a tight live lineup & an extremely focused “real deal” album in the works.

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And, of course, JACK CASSADY “ANTIVOLK” & “THE REAL MAN IN BLACK.”

Sure to manufacture career suicide in the eyes of every “grimmer then thou” stereotype, these antifolk/acoustic records were written primarily on the road. Panhandling songs & coldhearted whiskey tunes for audience of the moon alone.

Also available, of course, is the extreme road journalism saga “THE BIG SHINY PRISON” as a Free E-Book PDF file, which features 100’s of interviews & a jaw-dropping roll call of some of the greatest underdog musicians in the USA.

315 pages, 606 hours on greyhounds & $10,000 spent. And you know what? Not a single dissatisfied customer.

Out of print for 5 years, this fresh version of “THE SILENT BURNING” is the way the original was intended – unexpurgated, uncensored & featuring a host new content, an altered structure, an updated intro & appendix which includes the notorious propaganda manual “THE MABUSVANIAN CONSPIRACY.”

Originally released on January 5th 2005 by Elitist Publications, “THE SILENT BURNING” was quickly pulled from stores because of its highly confrontational, raw & offensive nature. “THE SILENT BURNING” went on to become a legitimate cult phenomenon, with original copies appearing on e-bay for an upwards of $80.

Written for the sole purpose of brutal self therapy, “THE SILENT BURNING” is a take no prisoners account of bi-polar depression from the grim bowels of Detroit. Created during supreme hopelessness (circa 1998-2002), “THE SILENT BURNING” is a ruthless anti-speech that supremely capsizes the Post-Cobain/Pre-Columbine “Dark Generation” who soon grew into adulthood watching “Fight Club” one too many times.

Somewhere between “The Wall,” “The Downward Spiral” & every Napalm Death album, “THE SILENT BURNING” is a nexus of black humor so callous no one is quite sure if they are even supposed to laugh. It is essentially a mammoth poem fragmented into a quasi-anthology, featuring over 70 vignettes, soliloquies, dream narratives, journal entries, poems, rants & misanthropic outbursts.

(VI)

“FORTRESS EUROPE (The Big Shiny Prison Vol. II)"

10 years in the making, “FORTRESS EUROPE” is the long promised beast of nonfiction journalism from underground USA journalist Ryan Bartek.

Clocking in at 222 pages, this career defining & genre bending work details the author's travels throughout the European Underground in Summer 2011.

Refuting every stereotype of traditional journalism, “FORTRESS EUROPE” combines the classic autobiographical road novel with the current state of European Counterculture. The result is an odyssey of monumental scope featuring face-to-face interviews with a number of legends in extreme metal, hardcore punk, industrial, experimental, psychedelic & good old rock n' roll.

Do not be mistaken – “FORTRESS EUROPE” is not a “music book.” It is a fanatical attempt to eclipse these preconceptions that metal/punk are low-brow subcultures that should be discounted & ignored. It is an authentic work of art which takes it's cues not from static “music journalism” but rather the literary territory of legends like Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Hunter S Thompson, etc.

File sharing is approved & encouraged by its author, Ryan Bartek. He asks that any interested parties simply attach the PDF to an email & forward it to any who might find value. While reviews are appreciated, we know this is time-consuming. Therefore, we mainly seek news mentions that clearly explain where to download “FORTRESS EUROPE (The Big Shiny Prison Vol. II)” for FREE.

“FORTRESS EUROPE” is the sequel to “THE BIG SHINY PRISON.” Both books are works of nonfiction travel journalism revolving around modern counterculture. While “THE BIG SHINY PRISON” covered the USA underground, “FORTRESS EUROPE” details the author's odyssey throughout the EU in 2011.

Furthermore, Ryan Bartek will be engaging in a DIY book tour throughout 2011. Details TBA.

“FORTRESS EUROPE” is the third book by Ryan Bartek, preceded by “THE BIG SHINY PRISON” (2009) & his debut anthology “THE SILENT BURNING” (2005). Bartek is also a veteran musician of grindpunk acts SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC & A.K.A. MABUS. He also performs acoustic/antifolk under the alias JACK CASSADY, does live spoken word (as Ryan Bartek) and has toured nationally. Bartek has been published in a host of zines/newspapers, including Metal Maniacs, PIT Magazine, and HAILS & HORNS, among others.